William feeeib



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

` WILLIAM FERRIE, OF MONKLAND IRON AND STEEL WORKS, GREAT BRITAIN.

IMPROVEMENT IN SMELTING OR BLAST-FURNACES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 116,698, dated July 4,1871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM FEREDE, of the Monkland Iron and SteelWorks, in the county of Lanark, Kingdom of Great Britain a-nd Ireland,have invented certain Improvements in Smelting or Blast-Furnaces, ofwhich the following is a specification:

My invention relates to the formation of a series of retorts, chambers,or spaces around. the upper part of the furnace, for coking coalsupplied to the furnace, so as to save the expense of separate cokin g,and so as to diminish the waste of coal which ordinarily takes pla-ce atthe top of a blast-furnace in which raw coal is used. The said chambersalso have the advantageous effect of causing coke (either formed thereinor supplied in the form of coke) to descend through the lower part ofthe furnace on l the outside of the ores and iiuX. My invention alsocomprises the formation of ilues in the upper sides of the furnace, forthe introduction and combustion therein of otherwise waste gases withdrawn from the furnace, for the purpose of aiding the operation ofcoking the coal, or for heating the coke and thereby economizing fuel.

Figure 1 is a half plan or top view of the furnace; Fig. 2, a verticalsection; Fig. 3, a horizontal section as at the line A A in Fig. 2; Fig.4, a horizontal section as at the line B B; and Fig. 5 is a horizontalsection as iat the line C C.

A series of retorts or long vertical chambers, 1, (there being four inthe modification delineated,) is constructed around the throat or top 2of the furnace, with its bottom ends opening into the furnace.Buttresses 3, projecting into the furnace, are built beneath and betweenthe retorts 1, and from long vertical channels 4 below the retorts.These but-tresses 3 may terminate at the boshes, as shown. by the fulllines; or they may be continued further down, as indicated by the dottedlines. The raw coal is charged separatelyT into the retorts 1, while theiron-stone ores and limestone or iiux (with a small proportion of cokeor coal, if necessary) are charged into the center 2, in the ordinaryway, either by a door, a, at the level of the gallery, or by a lowerdoor, as indicated by dotted lines at b. The air necessary to supportcombustion and for carrying on the coking process I proposed tointroduce near the lower end of each retort 1; but I find that it isbetter to in; troduce it at the top by a pipe, shown at 5. In order thatthe retorts 1 may be sufficiently heated flues or passages 6 7 areconstructed to pass up vertically alongside of them, both on their outerand inner sides; and passages, indicated by dotted lines at S, a-re madeto admit air to burn the gases passing up the flues. The gases passingup the iiues 6 7 in this way are portions of the ordinary waste gases ofthe smeltingfurnace, and the iiues serve the double purpose of outletsfor them and of means for utilizing them. The portions of the ordinarywaste gases which do not pass off by the flues 6 7 may be allowed toescape by the central throat 2; or they may be drawn off by passages,indicated by dotted lines at 9, into a circular duct, 10, when'ce theymay be led away by ducts for utilization. Doors 11, counterbalanced soas to close of themselves, are fitted to the sides of the retorts orcokechambers 1 at their upper ends, and valves may be fitted in the topsof the retorts, as indicated at 12, to be opened for the escape ofwatery vapors when these are given off from the coal. The combustiblegases formed in the retorts pass oif, by outlets 13 in the sides of theretorts and by passages' 14, to an external circular duct, 15, whencethey may be led away for utilization.

The coke 1n ade in the retorts 1 descends through the furnace uniformlywith the ores and flux in the center, and continues in contact with thesides of the furnace in the channels 4 down to the level 16 of thetuyeres, by which the main blast is introduced, and greatly facilitatesthe reduction of the ores.

The retorts or chambers 1 may be continued lower down than as shown inthe drawing, if preferred.

The gas produced in the process of coking the coal is much purer andmore combustible than that from an ordinary furnace in which raw coal ismixed with the ores and flux.

Instead of coking raw coal in the chambers 1, coke made in the ordinaryway may be supplied into those chambers, so as to take advantage of thehereinbefore-described arrangements, whereby it will be kept separatefrom the ores and iiux imtil reaching the lower part of the furnace.

The same arrangements for supplying the fuel muy be adapted to variouskinds of blast-furneces, and Whether these are used for slneiting 2. Theforming,l of iiues 6 7 in the upper sides of the furnace and of inletsfor air into suoli fines, substantially as and for the purposeshereinbefore set forth. Y

WILLIAM FERRIF.

Witn esses EDMUND HUNT7 ALEXANDER CALDERHEAD.

